The invention relates to a motor vehicle roof with a roof opening which can be closed by a cover than can slide and preferably also be pivoted out, whose underside is covered by a headlining which, close to the cover front edge is joined to the cover by an attachment arrangement which causes the headlining to be taken along with the cover, yet allows a height adjustment of the cover to be achieved without affecting a firm seating of the headlining against a fixed vehicle frame part bounding the roof opening.
In a known motor vehicle roof of this type (German Pat. No. 26 37 839 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,785), the attachment arrangement comprises flat springs which, on the one hand, are attached to the front part of a headlining frame and, on the other hand, to a rail, which, by clips, is connected to a cross strut on the underside of the cover. Instead of several flat springs and the rail, a spring strip designed like a rail and extending over the entire width of the cover, can be provided which is fastened along one longitudinal edge to the cover and along its other longitudinal edge to the lining frame. The spring or springs keep the headlining engaged with a flange of a roof frame surrounding the roof opening (a flange that serves as a lateral guide for the headlining) and this engagement is kept independent of the height adjustment of the cover with respect to the fixed roof surface.
The ability to adjust the height of the cover is necessary to align the cover, in the closed position, in relation to the fixed roof surface in the completed assembly of the vehicle. However, in the known arrangement with a change of the height adjustment of the cover with respect to the roof frame, and thus also with respect to the headlining, a force component is transmitted to the headlining, which is directed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the force component may result in a misalignment of the headlining in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. As a result undesirable gaps can occur in the closed cover position between the front edge or the back edge of the headlining and the adjacent roof frame parts. Moreover, the known arrangement requires a relatively large assembly height since, between the headlining and the end of the spring or springs to be connected to the cover, sufficient room must exist in the vertical direction for the spring or springs to be able to bend downward then press upward for an engagement of the clips on the cross strut of the cover.
In another known motor vehicle roof of the type initially mentioned (German Pat. No. 25 51 335 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,962) the cover is provided with front guide shoes on both sides, which are rigidly interconnected by a cross beam and which, serve for guiding the cover in its sliding movement and in respect to which the cover is adjustable in height. At least two bow-shaped stop springs are fastened to the headlining. These stop springs open toward the front and are placed at a distance from one another so as to engage a cross beam that is attached to the guide shoes when the headlining is shoved in from the back edge of the cover. In this case, a height adjustment of the cover has no effect on the alignment of the headlining. The additionally required cross beam, however, results in an undesirable increase in the overall weight of the roof.
Therefore, the invention has a primary object of providing a displaceable cover motor vehicle roof that is easy to assemble, in which the headlining is guided exactly independently of the height adjustment of the cover while taking up little assembly space in the vertical direction and, at the same time, being light in weight.
This object is attained in a motor vehicle roof of the initially identified type by connecting the headlining to the cover utilizing an essentially vertical attachment pin and a catch clip that, by a relative movement in an essentially horizontal direction, can be brought into an engaged condition with each other wherein the catch clip can be freely moved a limited distance with respect to the attachment pin in the direction of the pin axis and can be freely tilted a limited angle with respect to the attachment pin.
The motor vehicle roof according to the invention needs no additional cross beam that increases the weight. By said design of the attachment arrangement it is guaranteed that no forces are transmitted to the headlining which can shift the position of the headlining when the height of the cover is adjusted or, even, when the cover is pivoted out. Furthermore, the roof can be made very flat.
The catch clip advantageously has two spring legs lying next to one another that are able to be elastically spread out against their spring force and which, in the released condition, define an opening for receiving the attachment pin with a predetermined play. The vertical dimension of the spring legs is smaller than that of the attachment pin. Joining of the headlining to the cover is made very simply, by shoving of the headlining in a horizontal direction, especially from behind if the spring legs diverge from one another like a funnel on their free front ends. Thus, a self-centering with respect to the attachment pins is attained.
Advantageously the attachment pin is fastened to the cover or a front cover reinforcement while the catch clips are fastened on a lining frame of the headlining. But, basically, the arrangement can be reversed. It contributes to a simple assembly if the catch clip is, itself, clipped in the lining frame. Thus, advantageously, the lining frame, in the area of the clipping connection with the catch clip, is dome-shaped in such a way that, in the clipped condition, the lowermost exposed surface of the catch clip is on a level with or above the lowermost underside surface of the lining frame. In this way, the clipping connection becomes invisible behind the roof lining fabric made, for example, from textile material or plastic film. Moreover, such a solution also contributes to inside safety.
In accordance with another feature of the preferred embodiment, each catch clip is mounted to pivot with respect to the lining frame around an axis perpendicular to the major plane of the frame and, optionally, can be rotated into a working position and an upholstery position. This allows an upholstering of the lining frame with the headlining fabric unhindered by the catch clips. To avoid undesirable misalignments of the catch clips, the catch clips can engage with respect to the lining frame both in the working position and in the pivot position corresponding to the upholstery position.
For a reliable guiding of the headlining, the catch clip preferably carries at least a spring, which puts a prestress on the headlining in a direction away from the cover. In this way the headlining can be pressed elastically and with relatively slight force against guides fixed with the vehicle, e.g., a roof frame surrounding the roof opening on the one hand, to guarantee an easy sliding of the headlining but, on the other hand, to prevent rattling. The spring can be designed simply as a flat spring connected in one piece with the catch clip, i.e., as a unitary or integral part thereof, preferably as a single plastic molded part.
In another aspect of the invention, in the rear cover area, on each side of the cover, a guide fork is clipped to the headlining. The fork is designed as a molded plastic part with an integrated slide in which an adjustment pin is guidingly received. The adjustment pin projects laterally from a pivot lever serving for swiveling of the cover. Thus, an exact guiding of the headlining is further improved.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiments in accordance with the present invention.